Benedict Cumberbatch has been at the edge of Oscar's peripheral vision for some time now. Appearing in Oscar nominated movies such as Atonement, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and War Horse, last year seemed prime to be "the year of Cumberbatch" as he appeared in three awards season films (The Fifth Estate, 12 Years A Slave, and August: Osage County). Before the films had been actually seen, Cumberbatch's lead performance as hacktivist Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate was a particularly popular pick for prognosticators in the Best Actor race, but once the film landed DOA at the box office, those predictions quickly disappeared. This year however, despite the fact he is only appearing in one awards season flick, looks like the year Cumberbatch will finally be able to add "Oscar nominee" to his resume. Playing Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, a long in development film which has been on the radar of Oscar pundits for some time now, Cumberbatch looks to have found the right role to match his talents and the Academy's taste. The Imitation Game, which premiered at this year's Toronto Film Festival to good reviews and audience acclaim, winning the festival's coveted People's Choice Award, has been a major player in this year's awards season competition. Nominated for practically every Best Picture award under the sun, The Imitation Game is a serious threat to take home the big kahuna of Oscars, Best Picture, although it has already run into a road bump or two. The film, which focuses in on Turing's imperative role in breaking the German's infamous Enigma Code during WWII, a feat which was critical to the Allies victory over Germany, has been criticized in some corners for the way it handles Turing closeted homosexuality, something the British government castrated Turing for later in his life. While the film will undoubtedly be a major force at this year's Oscars, it will be interesting to see if this criticism has any effect on its overall performance with the Academy. The fact that there is a strong "overdue" narrative working in Cumberbatch's favor though should prove him to be immune from any backlash. However, as competitive as this year's Best Actor race is, and if members of the Academy take the performance for granted, Cumberbatch could still find himself on the outside of the "Oscar-nominee" club when the nominees are announced on January 15.
A film fanatic at a very young age, starting with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and gradually moving up to more sophisticated fare, at around the age of ten he became inexplicably obsessed with all things Oscar. With the incredibly trivial power of being able to chronologically name every Best Picture winner from memory, his lifelong goal is to see every Oscar nominated film, in every major category, in the history of the Academy Awards.
